Delicate jaboticaba
Myrciaria tenella

Family: Myrtaceae

What it is like

A shrub or small tree. It loses many leaves during the year. It grows 1-5 m tall. The trunk is smooth. The leaves are papery and 1.5-2 cm long. They are opposite. The flowers are in pairs in the axils of leaves. They are white. The fruit are round and bright red. They are 1-2 cm across. They have 1 seed and a thick pulp.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows naturally in seasonal and isolated forests in central Brazil. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,300 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil (country/location of origin), Hispaniola, Paraguay, South America (country/location of origin), Venezuela, West Indies

How it is used for food

The fruit are eaten fresh. They are also used for jellies.

It is sometimes cultivated as a fruit tree.

Edible parts

Fruit

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. Seeds are collected from ripe fruit by shaking the branches over canvas and putting the fruit in plastic bags to allow them to partly decompose so that the seeds can be washed out under running water. Seeds need to be planted fresh in light shade. Seedlings emerge in 30-40 days.

Plants grow slowly.

Its other names

Local names

Camboi, Camboim, Camboim-do-rio, Camboizinho, Cambui, Cambuim, Cambui-preto, Murta-do-campo

Synonyms

Eugenia tenella DC.; Myrciaria undulata O. Berg.; Plinia haitensis Urb. & Ekman; Plinia montescristina Urb. & Ekman;